Gold Edition retires as Cat pounces

Andrew Eddy [The Age]
February 3, 2008


SUPER sprinter Gold Edition's amazing racing career has come to an end, with trainer Ron Maund announcing just moments after her unplaced run in yesterday's Lightning Stakes at Flemington that the best horse he had ever trained would be retired immediately.

"At the clocktower she looked across at me and waved goodbye," Maund said after the mare finished fourth in the race won by the remarkable Apache Cat. "I knew then that she was feeling the strain of it all and so it was a pretty easy decision really.

"I actually feel as happy now as if she'd won the race as she's leaving the racetrack in one piece and can enjoy the rest of her life," added Maund, who has been in racing more than 50 years.

Gold Edition, who did pull up lame in the off-foreleg, was sent out the $1.85 favorite to add the Lightning to her incredible record of 17 career wins, but by the time the field had reached the clocktower inside the 200-metre mark, she was a beaten horse. Maund said he went to the races yesterday as confident as ever, but admitted to having an inkling her racing days were limited.

"She was starting to wear a little and feeling the weight on her legs. You could see by her action that she was not relishing the high-speed contest and things were starting to ache. She's been so good that it's unnecessary to go further. We are not going to the well once too often. She's been far too good for that."
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And on Feb 1st. in the Sydney Morning Herald:
O'Brien said "it was not certain the four-year-old would retire at the end of the season."

"Why would she retire if she's going well? I'm open-minded and if she's still racing well, she might have another season," he said.

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"HPC ruled out [SMHerald]

"Hydroxyprogesterone caproate, the synthetic hormone with which Gold Edition has been treated in the past, joins the banned substance list as of Friday with Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy saying its detection in a thoroughbred would result in automatic disqualification for a trainer."


I wonder how much of this stuff Gold Editions got dosed with during her career?

Edited. Unsubstantiated guess. Moderator.